


Until the End of Time

by reviloo



Category: Twosetviolin
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Fluff, M/M, overdue christmas fluff..., written for tsv secret santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-08
Updated: 2020-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22169413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reviloo/pseuds/reviloo
Summary: Brett isn't sure as to what Eddy is planning, but by the looks of it, he's going to be overwhelmed with presents this year.
Relationships: Eddy Chen/Brett Yang
Comments: 9
Kudos: 99





	Until the End of Time

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this was written for fox_rain_04 on instagram and twitter (specifically, it was for twoset secret santa)! it's a good while after christmas and after the general holiday season, but i hope it still is okay c:
> 
> thank you, and enjoy your gift! <3

Eddy had recently finished his Paganini promise and had spent the past two days leaving Brett alone in their new Singapore apartment to “run some errands.” Not that Brett minded, of course; he figured that Eddy just wanted to relax after the amount of stress that he had put on himself these past few months, and, besides, it would give him more time to practice the Tchaikovsky in peace and quiet.

He realized that he should have known something was up when he set down his violin and walked into their living room.

Brett could have sworn that there was nothing on the table when he woke up and crawled into their designated practice room. But there was now a blue box, all nice and wrapped, resting on the glass surface and taunting Brett with the unknown contents. He rubbed his eyes and waddled over, glancing around to look for his missing boyfriend.

“Eddy?”

No reply. Perhaps he had left again. 

The label caught Brett’s eye though: this was a gift for him, from Eddy (he could recognize that handwriting anywhere). Brett kneeled down near the box and pulled on the ribbon with sore hands; the silk came unravelling in a matter of seconds. He was left with the metallic paper, which he tore through to reveal a plain cardboard box and a post-it note.

_Your Christmas gift, part one._

Brett picked up the note and snorted - _of course_ Eddy would do something like this, something meticulously organized as a Christmas gift like he did every year before this. And of course Brett would feel the exact same: a swelling in his heart, a shortness of breath, a heat scattered across his face, a growing admiration that would never stop growing for the younger boy.

He reached over and opened the box, only to reveal a mini collection of percussion-related keychains: a bass drum keychain, a snare drum, a bongo, and so on. There were some that Brett didn’t quite recognize, but that confusion was overpowered by the many questions he had for Eddy. To say he wasn’t somewhat disappointed would have been a lie; he wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but as a violinist, he wasn’t expecting to receive percussion keychains for Christmas.

 _Or, well, this is just part one._ He picked up a keychain with a rather interesting drawing of a drum set. _Maybe it’ll get better._

He smiled gently to himself and put the keychains all back where they came from, before carrying his first gift to their shared room.

* * *

“Is this part four?” Brett grinned, wrapping his hands around the warm mug of hot chocolate. “So soon after part three? It isn’t even tomorrow yet.”

Eddy shrugged. “Open the envelope and you’ll see why I didn’t give it to you tomorrow.”

The two of them were sitting, cross-legged, on the couch with their drinks and some of their favorite candy bars and chips scattered on the table in front of them. Some movie was playing on the television, but Brett was too distracted by the golden envelope to consider what was happening to any of the characters. He set his mug down and reached for the envelope, watching Eddy’s eyes gleam with an excitement that paralleled Brett’s.

_Your Christmas gift, part four._

Brett tore through the envelope; Eddy watched, a hand reaching for the few chocolate bars - Brett’s favorite, but he loved them as well - that were left on the table. Maybe he wouldn’t notice, wouldn’t attack Eddy over them like he did last time-

“Don’t,” Brett’s head snapped toward the chocolate, “you _dare_.”

Eddy’s hand retreated. A sheepish smile grew on his face as he leaned his head against their couch, returning his full attention to the two tickets and the destroyed envelope in Brett’s hand. 

Brett blinked. “A ballet?”

“At Esplanade. Figured you would want a break from practicing every night and day, so we’re heading out tomorrow to watch that and explore the city.” His hands fidgeted with the strings of his sweatpants. “I know ballets aren’t your cup of tea, but trust me, this one is really good-“

“You don’t need to tell me how good it is.” He hummed, putting the tickets back into whatever was left of the envelope. “Whatever you pick, I’m certain it’ll be amazing.”

“Amazing, or _amaaaazing?_ Those are two very different things.”

“If it’s the latter,” Brett joked, “I’m breaking up with you.”

Eddy threw a pillow at his face.

* * *

Four golden rings, all resting in a velvet case, was what greeted Brett as his gift for the eighth day. He took a careful look at each one of them when Eddy had left, each engraved with a year, and smiled softly at the tiny slip of yellow paper that rested in his hand. His thumb trailed the years that were on each of the rings as the post-it note fluttered gently in the breeze of the open window. 

_Your Christmas gift, part eight._

_These aren’t actual gold, first of all. Don’t get your hopes up - we’re not that rich yet. Maybe if we were doctors instead of musicians, then all of these wouldn’t be painted gold (and we would also be the dream Asian children, haha)._

_Anyways, on each of these rings are four dates: the year we first met in tutoring, the year we started TwoSet, the year we started dating (thanks for confessing; I was way too socially awkward to say anything to you), and a little mystery year. Something tells me you’ll be bugging me until the end of my days about that ring, but know that I won’t budge. You’ll figure out why that’s included soon, I hope._

Brett glanced over at the final ring. The surface reflected the warm lights of their shared apartment, making it difficult for Brett to see the year clearly until he picked it up. He was extremely careful while doing so, treating the rings like they were rare, precious treasures and holding them with the very tips of his fingers.

_2020._

That was soon, and something about how soon it was sparked excitement in Brett’s gut. He found himself smiling unconsciously as he set the ring back in the case, wondering what both of them had in store for their futures.

* * *

Eddy was fidgeting in his seat as he handed the gift ( _Your Christmas gift, part eleven_ ), leaving Brett to raise an eyebrow at what could have possibly been in the innocent red box. Brett took the box into his arms and leaned back on the couch before peeling off the paper slowly; he watched Eddy squirm all the way to the edge of the couch, his hands folded so tightly that his knuckles were turning white, and paused.

“What?” Eddy frowned. “You’re not going to tear through it like you did with everything else?”

“You look like you’re ready to throw up any second.”

If Brett didn’t know Eddy as well as he did, he wouldn’t have noticed Eddy widen his eyes ever so slightly, nor would he have noticed the hesitant smile that he threw on his face, nor would he have noticed the slight stammer that came with his next words: “Oh, it’s nothing.”

But he knew, and it was raising too many suspicions. “What is in here?”

“Nothing, really. I-It’s not related to that.” His grin grew wider, more of a nervous habit than anything. “Just open it. Trust me.”

“Then what’s going on?”

He shook his head. “It really isn’t anything. Your gift is fine; there’s just a few things on my mind that I need to sort out on my own. I don’t want you to worry about me on Christmas Eve.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’ll be fine.”

“Alright.” Brett furrowed his brows for a moment before returning his attention to the gift. His face glowed with a wide smile at an attempt to distract Eddy from whatever he was fidgeting about. “Shall I?”

He tore through the cardboard in a matter of seconds, shreds of metallic red and brown floating to the ground. Inside were two stuffed animals, both birds with brown speckles that littered their wings and sharp yellow eyes. Brett’s eyes glowed as he reached in and scooped one of the birds out, cradling it in his palm.

“They’re cute.” He grinned wider. “What bird are they?”

Eddy’s shoulders fell. On his face was a genuine smirk, one that conveyed so much confidence that it scared Brett for a moment. “They’re turtle doves. European turtle doves.”

* * *

The majority of their Christmas was spent outside roaming the streets of Singapore and buying whatever they felt like - most of it, of course, being food. Brett spent most of his time dragging Eddy by the arm around the malls and any stands that were still open this holiday, hoping that it would snap him out of whatever foreign state Eddy’s mind seemed to be in; Eddy spent most of his time grinning to himself, but staring out at Brett with fogged-over eyes.

“Do you want to get bubble tea?” Brett didn’t wait for a reply before pushing Eddy toward the tiny store. “I’ll get you your usual. Unless you want something else?”

Eddy hesitated. “The usual will be fine. Thanks, Bretty.”

So the two of them were stumbling home with full stomachs and bubble tea, holding hands in the taxi back to their warm, humble apartment (which was, unfortunately, still not fully furnished, but they agreed they would leave that until the new year). Brett found himself drifting off, his head resting on Eddy’s shoulder as Eddy began to hum quietly.

_On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…_

Or perhaps it was the practice version; he wasn’t so sure. Brett didn’t think much of it as the city lights and night stars around him fell into darkness, and as Eddy’s warmth wrapped around his entire being so that the moving taxi felt just like home.

* * *

Eddy was in a _singing_ mood tonight.

He was humming the song on repeat, over and over again, until they had reached the entrance to their apartment. His voice wasn’t the best - both of them knew that for a fact - but Brett didn’t mind. He rather enjoyed the little cracks in Eddy’s song as he struggled to hit some of the higher notes without waking up any of their neighbors, although at some point, he was always afraid that his throat would be completely sore the next day.

(His fears were justified. Eddy usually woke up with a raspy voice after a full day of singing, leaving Brett to take care of the stubborn Eddy who always claimed that he was fine.)

Both of them stepped into the elevator.

“On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…”

Brett glanced over at Eddy. His eyes were glowing with a joy that he had rarely seen today, thanks to whatever was distracting him, but also with a growing sense of anxiety that Brett could feel radiating off of him. He squeezed Eddy’s hand lightly, his own eyes reflecting concern.

“Twelve drummers drumming, eleven pipers piping…”

Was his voice shaking?

“Nine ladies dancing, eight maids a milking…”

Eddy lifted their intertwined hands gently. His thumb ran over the golden ring that was wrapped around Brett’s finger, tracing over the engraved year: _2020._ Brett watched with curious eyes as a slight smile found itself crawling onto Eddy’s face; the next line came out as if it was a whisper, ringing in the empty elevator.

“Five golden rings…”

Brett’s eyes widened with realization as the doors began to slide open. “Wait-”

“Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves-” Eddy’s face glowed bright red as he fumbled for his keys. The last notes he sang lingered in the air. “Finish it - what comes next?”

The lock clicked open. Eddy pushed their apartment door open and stepped back, beaming as he gestured for Brett to head in first. His shoulders seemed to relax, only to tense up a few moments later once Brett took a step toward the warm glow of their apartment. He was lucky that Brett was too captivated by the sight of the small tree in their apartment, decorated with fairy lights and a little stuffed animal on one of the branches.

“A, um,” Brett chuckled, waltzing over to pluck the stuffed animal off, “koala on a tiny tree?”

“On a ficus tree, to be exact. Figured it would be something to remind you of home, hm?” He shut the door behind him and followed, his arms wrapping around Brett’s shoulders. “Merry Christmas, love. Thank you for everything.”

Brett’s cheeks flushed pink. “Why are you thanking me? I-I didn’t even do this much for you; you did this entire ‘Twelve Days of Gifts’ and I don’t have anything as elaborate-”

“Hey.” His hold on Brett tightened. He buried his face in Brett’s shoulder. “I don’t care if it’s elaborate or not. I don’t even care if you don’t get me anything. The fact that you’re _here_ , with me - that’s a better present than I could have ever expected. So, thank you for always being here.”

The two of them stood there, Eddy embracing Brett and Brett staring at his own reflection in the koala’s eyes. Brett shut his eyes, relishing the moment and the comfort that surrounded him; he could feel Eddy’s heart pounding loudly when he jerked himself out of his arms, the soft koala still in his tiny hands.

“There were four golden rings. The song has five, because on day five, it’s five golden rings-”

“Oh.” Eddy turned a deeper shade of red. He took a deep breath. “I-I know.”

He reached over, setting the stuffed animal off to the side and clasping Brett’s hand in his own. His eyes were locked on the one golden ring - the mystery that Brett had been bothering him about recently. _2020._

“You know,” one last breath for good luck, “sometimes I envision our future. Both of us at still doing TwoSet, your Tchaikovsky had already dropped - sorry for the reminder - and my Sibelius as well. We’re still in this apartment, living happily, occasionally heading out to buy whatever we want in life, just because we can. We’re still doing everything together, from travelling to strange challenges to anything, really.”

Eddy slid the ring off and set it down on the table. Brett felt his heart catch in his throat when Eddy reached into his own pocket to pull out another red box and kneeled down on their floor.

“Never would I dare to imagine a future without you.” He flicked open the box, revealing the final golden ring: intricate and elegant, the band lined with swirls of gold and silver. “For a future like that, without the light of my life, would be dark and empty. So, will you-”

He didn’t have to say anything else. Brett kneeled down, pressing his lips against Eddy’s; his chest swelled with joy as they stayed there for a few moments, relishing in the feeling of home that the other always carried. His hands found their way up Eddy’s jaw. He cupped Eddy’s face in his hands and broke the kiss with a huge grin and a wave of tears, reflecting the beauty of the orange fairy lights in his glowing eyes.

“Of course.” Brett’s thumb wiped a tear from Eddy’s face. “When would I ever say no?”

* * *

2020 truly held its own meaning.

Brett would forever associate it with the aisle, the white suit jacket that Eddy wore as he stood at the podium, his eyes glazed as they stared, dumbfounded, at the door. He would forever associate it with the feeling of the _2020_ ring on a chain around his neck, the gold paint beginning to peel off to reveal silver, but the engraving never changing for all eternity. He would forever associate it with that one kiss, with the feeling of salty tears spilling out of their eyes, dripping onto the red carpet in front of them; he would forever associate it with the sound of cheers and applause as they walked out of the venue, hand in hand.

He glanced down at their anniversary ring - their fifth anniversary, which felt like it had come all too soon - and the camera that was pointed at him and the empty office chair.

“Eddy, hurry up!”

“I’m coming!” The sound of footsteps. “Agh, I feel like I’m getting old now - walking is difficult.”

Brett chuckled. “Okay, grandpa.”

“Hey, speak for yourself! I’m not the older one here, am I?”

But 2020 would be forever associated with his husband, who poked his head through the door with a radiant beam. He would forever associate it with the overwhelming feeling of love and relief: relief that Eddy would be forever by his side, relief that his life would be spent with someone who made his heart swell and flutter.

As Eddy leaned in for one last peck on the lips before starting the camera, Brett couldn’t help but grin.


End file.
